Following a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
