Following a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final synchronised kick in 2016. The production, famous for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The Sultan of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, 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, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Dua Lipa as they zoomed across world tours in sparkles, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The final look are poles apart from the 1990s era teen pop of crop tops and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained 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 modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For gen Z 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 semi-sheer embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“Showgirls evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Currently it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the shine but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says the showgirl image are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still featured as an symbol 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
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift references in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, gym sessions and countless concerts across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the stairs to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to leave early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. One is perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to look to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a realm where nobody falters.
