After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics 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 King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
