Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan 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.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum 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 classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
