After a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, 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 shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced 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 “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination 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 showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
