Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut 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 perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp 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 – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
