Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
