After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 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 today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece 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 basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody falters.
