After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling 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 back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, 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 enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
