Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
