After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
