Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed 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 adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
