After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area 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 are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
