After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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 explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
