Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced 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 apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
