After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where no one falters.
