Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, 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 glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift references in a new documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
