After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
