Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
