After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator 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, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
