Following a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.
