After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.