Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
