Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing 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. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer references in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
