Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, 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 theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
