Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a new docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
