After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled 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 zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
