Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
