After a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert 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 stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across arena stages in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference 19th-century entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. 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 even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
