After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z 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 actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
