Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress 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. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.