After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a show-stopping, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
