After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. 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 “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
