Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
