Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
