After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro 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 beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one falters.
