After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage 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 first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody falters.
