After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
