Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny 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 desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
