Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
