Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
