After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
