Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
