Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea the singer hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
