After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, 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 shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 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 underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
