After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded 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.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
