Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert 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 newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
