Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
