Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
