Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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 popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her 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 basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
