Following a long-running run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert 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, her performers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s teen pop of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among collectors.
“This style evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the off-camera action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied make-believe, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
