Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion 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, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy 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 Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
