After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key 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 showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
