Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
