After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer hints at in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos 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 leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
