Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Drawing from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of the City
She says the showgirl image are integral to the identity of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that documents the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and 149 concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own showgirl performances as “like running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could recover before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
