After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing 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, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
