Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
