Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
