Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told 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 History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.