After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted 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 looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
