After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, 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 sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
