After a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The production, famous for its elaborate costumes designed by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to dwindling audience numbers and critical critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, roughly eight years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
The King of Glitz
Referred to as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his trademark look, dressing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, breathtaking, entrance-making statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in sequins, strategic openings and plumes, highlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator her creative director mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the mid-century, the backup dancers waved giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on classic performances, including burlesque and dance line references. The final look are worlds away from the 90s pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are on board with this glamour resurgence. A former performer, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a see-through beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, another pop star paid an significant price to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke fond memories for a past glamour,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘acceptable’ sexy because it has been modified. It has got all the glamour, the crystals and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” Chung says.
The Appeal of Illusion
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest docuseries that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and countless performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer recalls her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I performed. 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 fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one misses a mark.
