Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic 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 titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where no one falters.
