Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored 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, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase 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 went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one falters.
