Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored 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 significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography 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-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
