After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. 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, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
