Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due 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 bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
