Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
