After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made 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 previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
