After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics 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 showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
