After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer alludes to in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
