Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is perspiring 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 really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
