After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert 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 grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
