After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed 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 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 inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 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 basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
