After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed 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 emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to 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, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
