After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
