After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
