After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
