After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, 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, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored 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. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
