Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
