Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created 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 earlier in the year 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
