After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, 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, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
