After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other hitmakers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says an archivist, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
