After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan 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 sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
