Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion 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 bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a universe where no one misses a mark.
