After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
