After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal 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 documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
