After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
