After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced 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 is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert 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 elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
