After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
