After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
