After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, 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, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a latest docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
