Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in 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 green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
