After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. 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 made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed 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 earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
