After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sequins
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
