Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
