Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
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 a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
