Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one falters.
