Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also reference historical performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
Chung says showgirls are integral to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion Taylor Swift hints at in a new documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a world where no one falters.
