After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created 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 knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
