Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
