Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage 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 made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
