Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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 stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed 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 beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
