After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
