Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied 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, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area 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. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.