After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress 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. Later that year, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
