After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
