After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect 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 whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
