Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the production Jubilee! executed their last synchronised kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is back.
A Master of Glitz
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from screen legends to music superstars. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are embracing a glamorous, more dramatic, show-stopping, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they danced across concert platforms in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Pulling from the Past
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress made by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic inspire nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ 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 Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. It’s something Taylor Swift alludes to in a recent docuseries that captures the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headpiece was 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my cue so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and beautiful and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to look to than showgirls, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a world where nobody falters.
