Following a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas strip, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes crafted by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who called it a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Now, nearly ten years later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
The King of Glitz
Known as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his trademark look, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “naked” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold fringed bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “New stars are striving for a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
The Pop Culture Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by Taylor Swift. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The rhinestone encrusted bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and sparkly headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
The singer is part of a trend. This year, showgirl references have been embraced by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert mentioned in an interview with Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
These artists and other successful musicians also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era pop style of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a one-time Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “used as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s classic 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 translucent sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the crystals and the shine but without the nudity.”
More Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
The expert says this figure are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-based productions, Chung says they are still employed as an emblem of the city, being present at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting figure of Vegas glitz and glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This idea the singer hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and numerous concerts across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could catch my breath before I performed. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and magical.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the busyness of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. What better figure to look to than such icons, who have always embodied fantasy, idealism and a realm where no one falters.
