Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a world where no one makes a mistake.
