After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her 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 leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
