After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs 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 rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
