After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
