Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions 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 allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
