Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, 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 elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
