After a three-decade tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and critical reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Sultan of Sparkle
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of revealing tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer 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 private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the an academic institution, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the imagery of Sin City. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Appeal of Transformation
The former showgirl says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a new documentary series that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could rest before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where no one misses a mark.
