Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage 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 semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
