After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry 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 cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
