After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed 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 at an awards show 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 hit among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody falters.
