Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Comeback
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 vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style 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 “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, training and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
