After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
