Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored 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 made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
