Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
