Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
