Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded 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, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
