Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod 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. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously 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.
“This style inspire nostalgia 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 sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
