Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
