After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star 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, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a latest documentary series that documents the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
