Following a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the performers from the revue Jubilee! gave one last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The show, known for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and unimpressed reviewers who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, almost a decade later, the showgirl, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is making a comeback.
A King of Sparkle
Dubbed the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his trademark look, outfitting everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Recently, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a silver and gold tasseled bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they were accustomed to”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “Today's artists are pushing toward a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, entrance-making statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that glided all the way to the heart of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather 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 pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, cut-outs and feathers, illuminated against overstated sets. Her fashion curator a fashion expert told a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 1950s, her performers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from Tradition
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also take inspiration from classic entertainment forms, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are vastly different from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and baggy pants, and street-style dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
The Coveted Classic Look
For gen Z and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s iconic muses, Cher, when the actor 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, a singer paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a collection of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style inspire nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz,” says a historian, an expert at the University of Nevada, who documents the history of showgirls. “Now it is viewed as a sort of ‘toned-down’ appeal because it has been updated. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of Vegas
Chung says the showgirl image are central to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas no longer has any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still used as an emblem of the city, appearing at corporate events and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a enduring figure of Vegas glamour,” Chung says.
An Allure of Escape
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the appeal. This idea the singer references in a new documentary series that shows the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling rehearsals, training and 149 shows across 21 countries, each running for 3.5 hours.
The performer describes her own stage routines as “comparable to extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the staircase to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I made my entrance. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this illusion that it’s simple and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a longing for a break from reality. Who better to look to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
