After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear 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 entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody falters.
