Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed 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 Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount 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 trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
