Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on classic 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 came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult 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 star wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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 collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
