After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by 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, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
