Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade 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 over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist 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 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
