After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. 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 crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
