Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created 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, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.