Following a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer 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 collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, 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 updated. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says this figure are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support 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 catch my breath before I performed. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. What better figure to emulate than showgirls, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
