Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
