Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding 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.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage 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’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
