Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift hints at in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and countless concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
