Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
