After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by 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 previously 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 collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
