After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist 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 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
