Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
