After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about 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 considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
