After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion 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 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing 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 are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
