After a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes crafted by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his trademark look, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a newspaper. “New stars are embracing a glamorous, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including vaudeville and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent sequined 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 fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Icon of Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.
The Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense rehearsals, training and 149 shows across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. What better figure to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.
