After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors 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 showgirl style, is back.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
