Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced 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 Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
