After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert 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 currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
