After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. 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 rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 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 basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
