Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
