Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
