After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
