After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
