🔗 Share this article

After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.

Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.

The Master of Sparkle

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny 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 desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Comeback

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan 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 sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas

The expert says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.

An Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.