🔗 Share this article

Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.

The Master of Sequins

Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed 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 desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”

A Musical Resurgence

It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from History

These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

The Highly Sought-After Retro Style

For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.

“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”

A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.

The Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.