After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its ornate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Recently, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering fringed bodysuit with lamé 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 grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
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 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She has company. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also draw on classic performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
A Coveted Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed 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 popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the history of showgirls. “Today 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.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer hints at in a new docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, gym sessions and numerous performances across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “comparable to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but crafting this fantasy that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. What better figure to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody misses a mark.
