Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering 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 incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum 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 series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
