After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
