After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen 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 bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy 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 showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
