After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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 fashion collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
