Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
