After a long-running run on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective 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 knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. 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 apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created 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 significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.