After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
