Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered 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 embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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, the singer 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 a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. 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 make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
