After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
