After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
