After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed 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 looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
