After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
