Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 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 catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
