After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and countless concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
