Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- 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 covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
