Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing 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 striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where no one falters.
