Following a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, nearly ten years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to 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 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, 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 trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a new behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
