After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
