After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
