Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
