Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $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.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
