Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms 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 sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
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. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
