After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
