Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
