After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
