Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to 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 at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
