Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked 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, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 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 head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
