After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount 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 favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
