After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum 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 collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
