Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
