After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount 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 trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
