After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan 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 called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount 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 retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
