After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.
