Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult 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 actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
