After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
