Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
