After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made 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 undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.