After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the production Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its ornate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics 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.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, well over its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “New stars are embracing a show-stopping, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are on board with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an umbrella term covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year 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 favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls inspire a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Vegas
She says the showgirl image are key to the identity of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting rehearsals, workouts and numerous concerts across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the dressing rooms 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 crafting this fantasy that it’s easy and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for fantasy. Who better to turn to than showgirls, who have always represented fantasy, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
