Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut 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 shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
