After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
