After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade 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 glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” 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 created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
