Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
