Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms 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 working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one falters.
