After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
