After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
