Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up 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
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.