Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the production Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is back.
A Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his trademark look, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its projected value, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter 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 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 titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been incorporated by music artists including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other hitmakers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are worlds away from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this showgirl revival. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent embellished dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls bring about fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the an academic institution, who documents the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says showgirls are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Illusion
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl is part of the allure. This idea Swift references in a new docuseries that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, training and countless performances across multiple nations, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could rest before I went on stage. You’re working hard the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
