Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
