Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted 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, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently 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 bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps 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 are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
