Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. 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 glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
