Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
