After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered 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 danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
