After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
