Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined 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 private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
