Following a long-running stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! gave one last synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, entrance-making statement.”
The Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist her creative director told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “used as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For younger and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created 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 previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Just Style: An Symbol of Vegas
The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, being present at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift hints at in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless concerts across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own showgirl performances as “similar to running a marathon in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. You are working hard the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, perfection and a world where nobody makes a mistake.
