After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight 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 stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
