After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter 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 latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be 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 such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody falters.
