Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.