After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as 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
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled 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 references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 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.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro 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 sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
