Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
