Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
