After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
