After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
