After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted 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 – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
