After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress 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 inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
