After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created 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 were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, 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, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. 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, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. 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 fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where no one falters.
