After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon 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 sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
