Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created 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, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
