Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture 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. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan 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 ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one falters.
