Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
