After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where no one falters.
