Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
