Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are vastly different from the late-century Britney Spears era of revealing tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that preceded this trend.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded 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 tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something the singer hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and numerous shows across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 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 head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re perspiring the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
