Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
