After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic 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 embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
