After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective 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 desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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 trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
