After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
