Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut 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 glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
