Following a 31-year stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, 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 theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. 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 “used as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
