After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
