After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.