Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers 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
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
