Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price 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 collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
