Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal 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 emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.
