Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, 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 emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
