Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where no one falters.
