After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, 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 believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded 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 collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
