🔗 Share this article

After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.

The King of Sparkle

Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“In my view it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”

The Musical Comeback

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.

But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”

A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look

For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.

“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”

A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas

Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. 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 traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.

The Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.

The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”

Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody makes a mistake.