After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
