Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded 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 collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
