Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.
