Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
