Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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 favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.