Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
