After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to 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 at an awards show 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms 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. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
