Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
