Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character 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 intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where no one misses a mark.
