Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of 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 earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
