Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
