After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think 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 striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. 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 glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
