After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded 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 emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
