Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer references in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a world where no one makes a mistake.
