After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
