Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high 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 lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
