After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where no one falters.
