Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert 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 were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts 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 former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
