Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted 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 grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer references in a latest documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
