Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic fringed 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 emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
