Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, 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 – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear 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 entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
