Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Look
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 first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied 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, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
