After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart 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. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
