Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. 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 this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase 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 catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
