After a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and numerous shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
