Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift references in a new docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
