Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator her creative director explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also reference historical entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says an archivist, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “like running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a realm where no one falters.
