Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
