After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time 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 encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined 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 significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
