Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to 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 crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
