Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus 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, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
