Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted 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 grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
