Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
