After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
