After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny 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 desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum 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 series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
