After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece 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 basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
