After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance 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 stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” 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 hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress 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. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
