After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, 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, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer hints at in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one falters.
