After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, 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 showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, highlighted against overstated 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 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the allure. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, flawlessness and a universe where no one falters.
