Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
