After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert 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 explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
