Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously 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 vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
