Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed 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 modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
