After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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 trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time 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 simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody falters.
