After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter 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 rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
