Following a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sequins
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, showing up at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. It’s something Swift references in a recent docuseries that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, gym sessions and numerous performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
