Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
