After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
