After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created 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, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera 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.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
