Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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 favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
