Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon 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 leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
