After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, 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 tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
