After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective 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 told a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan 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 titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star 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 trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
