Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
