Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by 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, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made 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 significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
