After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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 apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, 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. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
