After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, known for its ornate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Sparkle
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more theatrical, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The final look are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the star wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas
Chung says this figure are central to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
The Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This is a notion Taylor Swift references in a latest documentary series that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, workouts and countless performances across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You’re working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the true allure of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than these performers, who have always embodied fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
