🔗 Share this article

Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.

A Sultan of Sequins

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I believe 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 pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”

A Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Drawing from Tradition

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”

More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas

Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

The Appeal of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.