Following a 31-year run on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! executed their last choreographed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its ornate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, came to an end due to dwindling audience numbers and critical commentators who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
A Master of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its projected value, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie crafted for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Contemporary performers are pushing toward a show-stopping, more spectacular, attention-grabbing, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of popular culture in 2025 largely due to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, plumed armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, showgirl references have been incorporated by singers including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers waved giant plumed accessories.
Drawing from Tradition
These artists and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The final look are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the early 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an broad label encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For younger and young adult stars, Mackie’s retro designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the star wore a see-through sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, an expert at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Style: An Icon of Las Vegas
She says the showgirl image are integral to the imagery of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was flanked by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, Chung says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at conventions and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
An Allure of Escape
Nancy Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, gym sessions and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy describes her own nights in the spotlight as “similar to extreme physical exertion in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to head up ahead of time for my moment so I could rest before I made my entrance. You’re sweating the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s effortless and stunning and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Is there anyone better to look to than these performers, who have always represented make-believe, idealism and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
