Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, 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, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
