Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way 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 vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today 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.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece 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 basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
