Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
