After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut 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 glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
