After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream 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 music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
