Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price 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 popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who documents the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the allure. This idea Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where no one misses a mark.
