Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon 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, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
