Following a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer 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 trio of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. It’s something the singer hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and 149 performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs 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 catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
