After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol 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 currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer references in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
