Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded 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 desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum 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 favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
