Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
