Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan 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.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and countless concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
