After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics 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 Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage 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 historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
