Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by 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 latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price 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 trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area 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 performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
