Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied 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 gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody falters.
