After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus 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, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
