Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The 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 actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
