Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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 were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
