Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view 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 publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion 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 backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
