After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
