Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase 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 rest before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
