Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut 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 glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
