After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like 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 basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
