After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price 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 favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
