After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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 publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
