🔗 Share this article

After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.

The Master of Sparkle

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

A Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.

Pulling from the Past

Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.

But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”

The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.

“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City

Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

An Allure of Illusion

Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.