After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, known for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by singers including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sequins, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But certain observers are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show 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.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says showgirls are key to the iconography of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea Taylor Swift alludes to in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
