Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed 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 fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
