After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
