Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. 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 broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
