After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage 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 designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting 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 longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
