Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
