After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
