Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The King of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where nobody misses a mark.
