After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro 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 an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
