After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
