Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made 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 world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously 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 favorite among 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 studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift references in a recent docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
