Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Sultan of Sequins
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also reference classic performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer 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 collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Allure of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, flawlessness and a world where nobody misses a mark.
