Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
