After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race 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 lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
