Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
