Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
