After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-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 used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
