Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger 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 actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are key to the imagery of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
