After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
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 “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
