Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that documents the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
