After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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 collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
