Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created 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 private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
