🔗 Share this article

Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

The Master of Glitz

Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé 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 looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

A Pop Culture Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Retro Look

For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.

“This style inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas

The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.

The Allure of Escape

Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”

Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where no one makes a mistake.