After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The production, renowned for its elaborate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed reviewers who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is experiencing a revival.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, outfitting everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 commanded $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a media outlet. “Today's artists are striving for a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
The Mainstream Revival
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. Earlier this year, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift has company. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by music artists including Sabrina Carpenter as they zoomed across concert platforms in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. A top stylist a fashion expert explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers wafted giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from historical entertainment forms, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and baggy pants, and urban dance moves that preceded this trend.
But not everyone are convinced with this glamour resurgence. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “employed as an broad label covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, Zendaya gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through beaded dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among vintage enthusiasts.
“Showgirls evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says Su Kim Chung, a curator at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Today it is viewed as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the rhinestones and the shine but without the exposure.”
More Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of the City
Chung says this figure are integral to the identity of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
The Appeal of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl is part of the allure. This is a notion Swift hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, training and countless shows across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
Hardy recalls her own showgirl performances as “similar to completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her headdress was 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the green rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. You are working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s easy and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl really is found. In the busyness of 2025 there is a desire for a break from reality. Is there anyone better to emulate than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a world where no one misses a mark.
