After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star 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. 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 series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
