After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount 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 collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
