Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
