After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where no one falters.
