After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
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 music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
