After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted 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 knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
