Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
