Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
