After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created 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 looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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 collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
