After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks 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 lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
