Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a publication. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, her performers waved giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor 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 significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a new docuseries that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs 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. One is working hard the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
