After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
