After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms 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 sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
