After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial 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 reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded 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 favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where no one falters.
