Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
