Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 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 underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
