After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches 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 elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos 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 leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
