Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
The Master of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sequins, revealing designs and plumes, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a recent documentary series that captures the backstage action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, workouts and numerous shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a universe where no one misses a mark.
