After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
