Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
