After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
