After a long-running run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised 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 disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan 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 tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving 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.
