After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
