🔗 Share this article

Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

A Sultan of Glitz

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold 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 new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

The Pop Culture Comeback

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.

Pulling from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“This style bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City

The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

An Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where no one makes a mistake.