Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. 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 apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and modern 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 star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece 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 entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
