After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
