Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. 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 shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
