Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
