After a three-decade run on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre 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 rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other successful musicians also reference historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This idea Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She explains her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the green rooms 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. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than these performers, who have always personified fantasy, flawlessness and a world where nobody falters.
