After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount 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 collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
