After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, 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 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
