Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.
