After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
