Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance 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 media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, 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, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
