After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
