Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where no one falters.
