After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung 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 icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
