Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created 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 at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography 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-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
