After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic 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 title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
