After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
