After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs 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 rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
