Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
