Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
