Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed 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 previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
