Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
