After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform 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 recover before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
