Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show 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 grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
