Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering 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 singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 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 even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of 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 previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
