After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new docuseries that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
