Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished 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 private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are central to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
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 a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
