After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, flawlessness and a universe where no one misses a mark.
