After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told 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
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era 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. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
