Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created 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 earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains 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 steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
