Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Mainstream 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. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
