Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist 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 mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
