After a three-decade tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“This style inspire fond memories for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a new documentary series that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I made my entrance. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this image that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
