Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
