After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a latest documentary series that shows the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
