Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
