Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
