After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided 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 original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
