After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling 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 showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount 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 trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
