Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and young adult 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 star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer 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 vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
