After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as 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.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“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 seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry 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 entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
