After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed 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 gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously 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 collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
