Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
