Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold 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 emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
