After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
