Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in 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 leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
