Following a 31-year tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and critical commentators who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Hollywood icons to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 largely due to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 90s pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an umbrella term encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, the historian says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, being present at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the attraction. This is a notion Swift references in a latest docuseries that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, idealism and a realm where no one misses a mark.
