Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered 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 underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
