After a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination 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 personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
