Following a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
