Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to declining audience numbers and disappointed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers wafted giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also draw on 19th-century performances, including classic theater and chorus line references. The results are poles apart from the 90s pop style of revealing tops and cargo pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously 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 favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Symbol of Vegas
She says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Las Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea Taylor Swift hints at in a recent docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and 149 performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own nights in the spotlight as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is sweating the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a universe where nobody misses a mark.
