After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage 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 called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
