After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
