After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, 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 were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her 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 underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
