After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy 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 Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. 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 creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
