After a 31-year tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the production Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, known for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who labeled it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Currently, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.
The Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top stage sparkle his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its initial estimate, while a metallic fringed bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, feathered armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in sparkles, revealing designs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
A Coveted Retro Style
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls inspire fond memories for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the history of showgirls. “Currently it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas glamour,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This is a notion the singer references in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and numerous performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to head up ahead of time for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a universe where no one falters.
