After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
