After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” 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 take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
