Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance 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 stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
