After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage 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 star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece 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 underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
