After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed 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, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green 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 made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where no one falters.