Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate 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 “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
