Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era 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 performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
