After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.