Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time 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 encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
