Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
