Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
