After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
