Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication 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.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
