After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous 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 a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
