Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
