After a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion 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 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering 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 vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum 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 collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one falters.
