Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic 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 appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
