After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also draw on historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount 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 series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
She says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While 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 promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I performed. You’re working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
