After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times 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.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring 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, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry 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 entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
