After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by 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 previously 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
