Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl 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 symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
