After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
