After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage 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 has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
