Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
