Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its intricate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed critics who called it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Dubbed the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical 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. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against camp sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and chorus line references. The results are vastly different from the 90s pop style of crop tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the an academic institution, who researches the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the shine but without the bare skin.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are central to the imagery of Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, showing up at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Appeal of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the attraction. It’s something Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting preparations, gym sessions and numerous concerts across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy explains her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the stage from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I performed. You’re perspiring the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified make-believe, perfection and a world where nobody falters.
