Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks 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 bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las 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-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms 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. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.