Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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 trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
