Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where no one falters.
