Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
