After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody falters.
