After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic 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 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where no one falters.
