Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted 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 grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
