Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
