After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing 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. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
