After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
