After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where no one falters.
