Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus 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, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
