Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert 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 newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
