Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against theatrical sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including vaudeville and dance line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even Taylor Swift.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of classic 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 a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Illusion
Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, gym sessions and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented fantasy, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
