After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s 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 today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
