🔗 Share this article

Following a three-decade run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to falling audience numbers and unimpressed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.

Currently, roughly eight years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.

The King of Glitz

Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made theatrical showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is desiring something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are pushing toward a glamorous, more theatrical, show-stopping, memorable statement.”

The Mainstream Revival

It’s a look that made its way all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were ideal for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.

The singer isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been embraced by singers including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 1950s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Drawing from Tradition

These artists and other successful musicians also reference classic entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The outcome are poles apart from the late-century pop style of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.

But some critics are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”

A Coveted Classic Style

For gen Z and millennial 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 see-through beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the glamour, the rhinestones and the shine but without the nudity.”

More Than Simply Fashion: An Symbol of Vegas

She says this figure are integral to the identity of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Jung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, appearing at gatherings and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.

The Appeal of Transformation

Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a recent behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, workouts and numerous shows across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.

She describes her own showgirl performances as “comparable to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. You are sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”

Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified make-believe, idealism and a universe where no one makes a mistake.