After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 hit 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. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
