After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created 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 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
