Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed 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 seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star 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, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says this figure are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
