Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering 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 retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
