After a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
