After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics 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 catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece 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 underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
