After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
