Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created 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 told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon 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 performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
