Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
