🔗 Share this article

After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A Master of Glitz

Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Musical Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

The Coveted Retro Look

For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, 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 series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”

More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.

An Appeal of Illusion

The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer hints at in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.