Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon 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 sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed 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 fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos 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 dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
