Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style 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 early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered 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 head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
