After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created 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 tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal 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 look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
