Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think 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. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently 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 bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
