After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times 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.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
