After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers 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.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
