After a long-running stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, known for its intricate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glamour his defining aesthetic, clothing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its initial estimate, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, breathtaking, grand statement.”
A Mainstream Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 propelled by a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift is part of a trend. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and plumes, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 1990s era teen pop of revealing tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But not everyone are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “treated as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Vintage Style
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become incredibly sought-after. In 2024, Zendaya honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the star wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus 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, Sabrina Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are central to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still featured as an symbol of the city, appearing at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring symbol of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the complete change of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea Swift references in a new docuseries that shows the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included exhausting practice sessions, training and numerous performances across multiple nations, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own nights in the spotlight as “comparable to completing an endurance race in heels every night”. Her feathered headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You are sweating the whole time but creating this fantasy that it’s effortless and gorgeous and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always embodied dreams, idealism and a realm where nobody falters.
