Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its intricate costumes designed by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and critical reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Recently, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they danced across concert platforms in sparkles, strategic openings and plumes, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Coveted Vintage Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, 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, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says a historian, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says this figure are key to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an logo of the city, showing up at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This is a notion the singer alludes to in a recent behind-the-scenes film that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own stage routines as “like completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and ethereal.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to turn to than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
