After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry 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 leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
