After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered 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 incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area 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 working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
