After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute 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 inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
