Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era 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. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
