After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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 collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
