In 1933, Doris Zinkeisen designed the scenery and costumes for Charles B. Cochran’s London production of Cole Porter’s musical Nymph Errant at the Adelphi Theatre. One costume featured an exceptionally low-cut décolletage, provoking a revolt among the chorus. The performers went on strike, objecting to what they regarded as the costume’s indecency and presumably to the professional and reputational risks of appearing in it onstage. The dispute became serious enough that Cochran, the celebrated impresario behind the production, was forced to intervene personally. The offending waistcoat was altered with gauze to fill the exposed gap, allowing performances to continue. The episode captures the period’s uneasy collision between theatrical spectacle, a designer’s visual ambitions, producers’ appetite for publicity, and performers’ ability to resist costumes they considered unacceptable. Zinkeisen did not suffer a career-ending downfall—she remained a prominent theatrical, film, and commercial designer—but the incident became one of the clearest controversies attached to her otherwise highly successful career.
Preparing the daily feature…
AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1930s
The 1933 Nymph Errant Costume Strike Over Doris Zinkeisen’s ‘Indecent’ Décolletage
Doris Zinkeisen / Charles B. Cochran’s Nymph Errant / 1930s
In 1933, Doris Zinkeisen designed the scenery and costumes for Charles B. Cochran’s London production of Cole Porter’s musical Nymph Errant at the Adelphi Theatre. One costume featured an exceptionally low-cut décolletage, provoking a revolt among the chorus. The performers went on strike, objecting to what they regarded as the costume’s indecency and presumably to the professional and reputational risks of appearing in it onstage. The dispute became serious enough that Cochran, the celebrated impresario behind the production, was forced to intervene personally. The offending waistcoat was altered with gauze to fill the exposed gap, allowing performances to continue. The episode captures the period’s uneasy collision between theatrical spectacle, a designer’s visual ambitions, producers’ appetite for publicity, and performers’ ability to resist costumes they considered unacceptable. Zinkeisen did not suffer a career-ending downfall—she remained a prominent theatrical, film, and commercial designer—but the incident became one of the clearest controversies attached to her otherwise highly successful career.
The daily editorial is currently unavailable. There’s still an entire archive to explore.