Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
