Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
