After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
