Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
