After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board 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 covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star 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. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
