Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. 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, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price 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 trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Sin City. 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 used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a recent documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
