🔗 Share this article

Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

A Master of Sequins

Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Musical Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.

But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s 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 modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Classic Look

For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas

Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.

An Allure of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.