After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
