Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Retro Look
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored 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 inspired by one he created 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 previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
