After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon 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 glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
