Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod 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 reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
